Parliamentary private secretary explained

A parliamentary private secretary (PPS) is a member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a government minister or a shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the "eyes and ears" of the minister in the House of Commons.^[1]

PPSs are junior to parliamentary under-secretaries of state, a ministerial post salaried by one or more departments.

Duties and powers of a PPS

Although not paid other than their salary as an MP,^[2] PPSs help the government track backbench opinion in Parliament. They are subject to some restrictions, as outlined in the Ministerial Code of the British government, but are not members of the Government.^[3]

A PPS can sit on select committees but must avoid "associating themselves with recommendations critical of, or embarrassing to the Government", and must not make statements or ask questions on matters affecting the minister's department.^[4] In particular, the PPS in the Department for Communities and Local Government may not participate in planning decisions or in the consideration of planning cases.^[5] ^[6]

PPSs are not members of the government, and all efforts are made to avoid these positions being referred to as such. They are instead considered more simply as normal Members. However, their close confidence with ministers does impose obligations on every PPS. The guidelines surrounding the divulging of classified information by ministers to PPSs are rigid.^[7]

Ministers choose their own PPSs, but they are expected to consult the Chief Whip and must seek the written approval for each candidate from the prime minister.^[8]

Although not on the government payroll, PPSs are expected to act as part of the payroll vote, voting in line with the government on every division.^[9] ^[10]

When on official Departmental business, a PPS receives travel and subsistence allowance paid out of government funds, as with formal members of the government. This makes the PPS the only type of unpaid advisor who receives reimbursement in the course of duty.^[11]

Overseas travel for PPSs must be approved by the Prime Minister and is granted only in exceptional cases.^[11]

The role in the career of MPs

The role of PPS is seen as a starting point for many MPs who aspire to become ministers themselves.^[12] According to Philip W. Buck, a professor of political science at Stanford University:

After the leaking of party details in emails associated with Desmond Swayne, PPS to David Cameron, a writer of the Thirsk and Malton Labour Party Constituency Blog commented:

Current Parliamentary Private Secretaries

The following is a list of Parliamentary Private Secretaries in the UK, since the swearing in of the Truss ministry on 6 September 2022. The Leader of the Opposition usually has at least one Parliamentary Private Secretary as well.^[13]

Johnson ministry (2022)

The following is a list of Parliamentary Private Secretaries under the Second Johnson ministry as of April 2022.^[14]

Parliamentary Private Secretaries!Office or ministerial team!Incumbent!Parliamentary Private Secretary
Ministry of Justice
Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Union and Minister for the Civil Service^[15]	Boris Johnson	Alexander Stafford
Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice	Dominic Raab	Mike Wood
	Dominic Raab	Julie Marson
Ministerial team		[Vacant]
HM Treasury
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Nadhim Zahawi	[Vacant]
Chief Secretary to the Treasury	Simon Clarke	[Vacant]
Ministerial team		[Vacant]
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and Minister for Women and Equalities	Liz Truss	John Lamont
Ministerial team		Laura Farris
Ministerial team		Dean Russell
Home Office
Secretary of State for the Home Department	Priti Patel	Gagan Mohindra
Home Office ministerial team		Matt Vickers
Home Office ministerial team		Luke Evans
Ministry of Defence
Secretary of State for Defence	Ben Wallace	Suzanne Webb
Ministerial team		[Vacant]
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations	Greg Clark	[Vacant]
Ministerial team		[Vacant]
Ministerial team		[Vacant]
Department for Health and Social Care
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care	Steve Barclay	[Vacant]
Ministerial team		[Vacant]
Ministerial team		[Vacant]
Cabinet Office
Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	Steve Barclay	Jane Hunt
Ministerial team^[16]		Ian Levy
COP26 President and Minister of State	Alok Sharma	Katherine Fletcher
Minister without Portfolio (Co-chair of the Conservative Party)	[Vacant]	[Vacant]
Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency	Jacob Rees-Mogg	Gareth Bacon
Minister without Portfolio and Minister of State	Nigel Adams	Brendan Clarke-Smith
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy	Kwasi Kwarteng	[Vacant]
Ministerial team		Felicity Buchan
Department for International Trade
Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade	Anne-Marie Trevelyan	[Vacant]
Ministerial team		[Vacant]
Department for Work and Pensions
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions	Thérèse Coffey	Flick Drummond
Ministerial team		Andy Carter
Department for Education
Secretary of State for Education	James Cleverly	[Vacant]
Ministerial team		[Vacant]
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	George Eustice	[Vacant]
Ministerial team		Mark Jenkinson
Ministerial team		[Vacant]
Department for Transport
Secretary of State for Transport	Grant Shapps	[Vacant]
Ministerial team		[Vacant]^[17]
Northern Ireland Office
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland	Shailesh Vara	[Vacant]^[18]
Ministerial team		[Vacant]
Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland	Alister Jack	[Vacant]
Office of the Secretary of State for Wales
Secretary of State for Wales	Robert Buckland	[Vacant]^[19]
Office of the Leader of the House of Lords
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal	Baroness Evans of Bowes Park	Chris Clarkson
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport	Nadine Dorries	Paul Bristow
Ministerial team		Simon Baynes
Ministerial team		Richard Holden
Office of the Leader of the House of Commons
Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council	Mark Spencer	[vacant]
Attorney General's Office
Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland	Suella Braverman	Alberto Costa

Johnson ministry (2021)

Post or ministerial team		Parliamentary Private Secretary
Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Minister for the Union	Rt Hon. Boris Johnson MP	Alex Burghart MP
	Rt Hon. Boris Johnson MP	Trudy Harrison MP
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office	Rt Hon. Stephen Barclay MP	Kevin Hollinrake MP
Cabinet Office ministerial team		Jane Hunt MP
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Rt Hon. Rishi Sunak MP	James Cartlidge MP
HM Treasury ministerial team		Claire Coutinho MP
Chief Secretary to the Treasury	Rt Hon. Steve Barclay MP	Craig Williams MP
Secretary of State for the Home Department	Rt Hon. Priti Patel MP	Mike Wood MP
Home Office ministerial team		Andrew Lewer MP
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and First Secretary of State	Rt. Hon. Liz Truss MP	Bim Afolami MP
Foreign and Commonwealth Office ministerial team		Joy Morrisey MP
Secretary of State for Defence	Rt Hon. Ben Wallace MP	Jack Brereton MP
Ministry of Defence ministerial team		Natalie Elphicke MP
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice	Rt Hon. Robert Buckland QC MP	Chris Clarkson MP
Ministry of Justice ministerial team		Julie Marson MP
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care	Rt Hon. Sajid Javid MP	Steve Double MP
Department of Health and Social Care ministerial team		Virginia Crosbie MP
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy	Rt Hon. Alok Sharma MP	Ben Bradley MP
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy ministerial team		Jo Gideon MP
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government	Rt Hon. Robert Jenrick MP	Andrea Jenkyns MP
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government ministerial team		Jacob Young MP
Ending rough sleeping, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government		Adam Holloway MP
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport	Rt Hon. Oliver Dowden MP	John Lamont MP
Secretary of State for International Trade, President of the Board of Trade and Minister for Women and Equalities	Rt Hon. Liz Truss MP	David Duguid MP
Secretary of State for Education	Rt Hon. Gavin Williamson MP	Scott Mann MP
Department for Education ministerial team		Angela Richardson MP
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	Rt Hon. George Eustice MP	Caroline Ansell MP
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ministerial team		Fay Jones MP
Secretary of State for Transport	Rt Hon. Grant Shapps MP	Robert Courts MP
Department for Transport ministerial team		Laura Trott MP
Secretary of State for International Development	Rt Hon. Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP	Flick Drummond MP
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions	Rt Hon. Thérèse Coffey MP	Bim Afolami MP
Secretary of State for Scotland	Rt Hon. Alister Jack MP	Ruth Edwards MP
Secretary of State for Wales	Rt Hon. Simon Hart MP	Sarah Atherton MP
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland	Rt Hon. Brandon Lewis MP	Sarah Dines MP
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons	Rt Hon. Jacob Rees-Mogg MP	Lucy Allan MP
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal	Rt Hon. Baroness Evans of Bowes Park	Chris Green MP
Attorney General	Rt Hon. Suella Braverman QC MP	Alberto Costa MP
Minister without Portfolio and Conservative Party Chairman	Rt Hon. Amanda Milling MP	Damien Moore MP
The Leader of the Opposition	Rt Hon. Sir Keir Starmer KCB QC MP	Sharon Hodgson MP^[20]

Notable Parliamentary Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister

See main article: Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. While giving the holder a close-up view of the workings of government at the highest levels, relatively few Parliamentary Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister seem to have gone on to serve at the highest level of government themselves, although Sir Alec Douglas-Home served as Prime Minister in 1963–4, while Anthony Barber was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1970 to 1974, Robert Carr, Home Secretary, 1972–4, and Christopher Soames, Peter Shore, and Gavin Williamson, the future Secretary of State for Education, all went on to be senior Cabinet ministers.